IRAK1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Since the function of IRAK1 mainly relies on its phosphorylated status in most tissues and cells [14, 16], in this study, si-IRAK1 or the IRAK1/4 inhibitor suppressed phosphor-IRAK1 protein levels, indicating that high expression of IRAK1 in HCC promotes cell proliferation and anti-apoptosis mainly through its phosphorylated status.